Page 10 - Cyber Safety C-8

“This chapter explains the digital world and the basics of cybersecurity.
It shows how cybersecurity protects us and highlights common threats
with real examples. Further the chapter explains safe online habits
and understand why cybersecurity is important.”

UNDERSTANDING THE DIGITAL WORLD

To understand the importance of cybersecurity, we must first understand how deeply the digital
world is integrated into human life. Over the last two decades, a global shift has occurred from
offline to online systems. Activities that previously required physical presence, such as banking,
shopping, education, entertainment, and communication, have migrated to digital platforms.

This transformation has created a new socio-technical ecosystem where humans interact with
machines, networks, and algorithms continuously.

Dependence on Online Platforms

Today’s digital dependence is visible across all age groups. Students rely on online platforms for
assignments, virtual classrooms, digital libraries, and communication tools. Working professionals
depend on cloud-based services, online meetings, and digital document storage. Families use
digital payments, online shopping, social media, and entertainment services daily.

This dependence creates a digital footprint, a continuous trail of data representing a person’s
online activities. This footprint includes search history, location data, photos, biometric
information, transaction details, and social interactions. Cybercriminals target this data because
it has economic value and can be exploited for identity theft, fraud, harassment, or manipulation.

CYBERSECURITY

Cybersecurity refers to the collection of technologies, processes, and practices designed to protect
digital systems, networks, programs, and data from cyber attacks. As defined by ISO/IEC 27032,
it encompasses measures to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information in
cyberspace.

Good cybersecurity reduces the risk of family personal information falling into the wrong hands.
It is important to implement security measures to safeguard devices.

Core Principles: The CIA Triad

The foundation of cybersecurity rests on three principles commonly known as the CIA Triad. These
principles are:

Confidentiality: Ensuring that information is accessed only by authorised individuals.
Techniques include encryption, password protection, and access control.

8 Computer Science - VIII